Air Travel Complaints Soar Higher in 2023

The number of air travel complaints filed with the U.S. Transportation Department soared during the first quarter of 2023 through to May, 2023, according to newly published data by the department. 

According to an AP News article on the subject, the department has had a backlog of complaints because the number is so high, and so the first quarter of 2023 through May, 2023 is the only data that has been released thus far. 

The first quarter of 2023 saw 24,965 complaints filed with the Department, an increase of over 88 percent from the 13,252 filed during the first quarter of 2022. 

March 2023 saw 7,492 airline service complaints, an increase of 70.1 percent from the same month in 2022, and a 12.8 increase from February, 2023. April 2023 and May 2023’s complaints were lower than in March, at 6,712 and 6,465 complaints respectively, but they were still inflated over the same months in 2022. 

According to the official release, the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) “routinely monitors airlines’ operations to ensure that airlines are not engaging in unrealistic scheduling of flights and is currently investigating several domestic airlines for unrealistic scheduling of flights,” though the airlines have not been named. 

Complaints About Treatment of Passengers with Disabilities

Complaints about the treatment of passengers with disabilities also rose in the beginning of the year. The total figures for the first quarter of 2023 were 636 disability-related complaints, nearly double the figures from the same period in 2022. 

In March alone, the Department of Transportation received 224 disability-related complaints, up from the 120 complaints from the same month in 2022. April and May also showed similar increases. 

Complaints Against Discrimination

Discrimination complaints during the first quarter of the year numbered 54: 24 regarded race, one regarded ancestry/ethnicity, 16 regarded national origin, 5 regarded color, 3 regarded religion and 5 regarded sexual discrimination. During the same period in 2022, there were 27 complaints. 

The number of complaints alleging discrimination dropped in both March and May, and stayed the same in April when compared to the same months in 2022. 

Is Air Travel Getting Worse? 

The question is whether air travel is getting worse, or people are starting to push back against decades-old practices and standards that just aren’t cutting it anymore. 

The Department of Transportation is certainly hardening its stance on protecting consumers’ rights. 

Under the Biden Administration, the DOT has investigated and fined several airlines for their practices over the past several years at a record rate. Southwest may be the next to be fined for last year’s meltdown, in which over 20,000 flights were impacted during the busy December travel season. 

It’s also proposed several new rules, from requiring air carriers to provide refunds, new flights or hotel stays to those impacted by cancellations and delays caused by the air carrier to a new airplane bathroom accessibility rule that would expand the interior of a plane’s lavatory to allow for someone with mobility issues to safely use it with a helper if necessary. 

An annual Global Passenger Survey conducted by IATA identified the top concerns that air travelers have with the American air travel process; besides complaints surrounding experiences in the air and with airlines, more travelers desire faster airport experiences, updated security checkpoint processes and easier visa processes for international travel. 

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